On this page: Yinepu / Anubis / Inpew

Please note - Festival days are an estimation compiled from several sources.





Yinepu/Inpew/Anubis

The spelling varies: Anubis/Inpew/Yinepu/Anpu. Jackal- or dog headed god, mostly represented as a crouching dog with tall, pointed ears and a long, hanging tail. It is thought the prototype for this deity was the jackal but other forms of dogs cannot be excluded. What speaks against the jackal, is that the black color of the coat is not typical for jackals. Instead, the color black could be symbolic of th putrefaction of the deceased, as well as the black soil which was the basis of the fertility of the Nile valley, and from which the ancient saw new life being born each year. He is known since Predydnastic times as protector of the deceased and of the necropolis, and overseer of the mummification process. Apart from appearing in jackal or dog form, he is also depicted in human form with a jackal´s head. A few representations show him in fully human form, as in the temple at Abydos, in a chapel of Ramesses II. It is believed that the symbolic connection of Anubis/Yinepu with embalming process and with the Underworld, is due to the ancients observing the desert dogs and jackals being frequent around the shallow burial areas during the Predynastic period. With the usual Egyptian way of turning a dangerous animal or force into an advantage, Yinepu was taken to be a protector for the deceased. In the Pyramid Texts he was mentioned in connection with the king as the one who frees the king from his earthly bindings so that he can ascend to the heavens and join the gods. Parentage In myth he is sometimes called the son of Nebt-Het (Nephtys) and Re. There are mentionings in the Pyramid Texts of a daughter of Anubis/Yinepu; Kebehwet, a celestial serpent who purifies the king. In the Coffin Texts Anubis/Yinepu is called the son of Bast, probably due to the hieroglyph for Bast, which includes an unguent jar, which has a great importance in the mummification process. But here he is also said to be born by the milk-goddess in cow form Hesat. In the Greek Period Plutharch calls him the son of Nebt-Het and Wesir, the spouse of Aset - despite this adultery, Aset adopted Anyubis/Yinepu as her son. This is thought to be an attempt at incorporating Anubis/Yinepu into the circle of the deities surrounding Wesir. During this time he became more of a cosmic deity who brings light to humanity, instead of the protector of the deceased and the mummification, which he had been throughout the then ca 2500 year long history of ancient Egypt. Epithets He carries several epithets; among them are Khenty Amentiu, "Foremost of the Westerners", indicating his supremacy over the deceased and buried. Another is Neb-Ta-Djeser, "Lord of the Sacred Land", meaning the desert on the western side of the Nile, where the necropolis was located. Khenty-Seh-Netjer, "presiding over the god´s pavillion", by which is meant the canine form of Anubis/Yinepu crouching on a shrine or pavillion, which symbolically can mean both the burial chamber itself, and the tent where the mummification is carried out, the so called Per Wabet or 'House of Purification'. The statue of Yinepu from Tut-Ankh-Amon´s tomb is just such an example. Tepy-Dju-Ef is another epithet; 'He Who is Upon His Mountain', meaning Yinepu looking out from his perch on the cliffs over the necropolis.

Main center of worship: Zawty/Lycopolis/Asyut, 13th N, Upper Egypt Other places: Mena´t Khufu/ el Minya, 16th N, Upper Egypt Hardai, 17th Nome, Upper Egypt Men-NeferMemphis, 1st N, Lower Egypt: anubeion in the necropolis. Saqqara 1st N, Lower Egypt. The Imiut This is a stuffed, headless animal skin, often a feline, which is tied to a pole fixed in a pot. It goes as far back as to the 1st Dynasty (3100-2890 B.C.) and was in time connected to Yinepu and is therefore sometimes called the 'Anubis fetish'. It´s said that it symbolizes Yinepu as embalmer. There are depictions of the imiut at the chapel at Deir-el-Bahri and other places, and sometimes there were models of it included in the funerary equipment. Yinepu in jackal form as he appears on a shrine from the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amon, 28th Dyn. Mummification He was also the overseer and protector of the embalming process and guardian of both the mummy and the necropolis. It is thought that Sem priests used to wear a mask of Anubis/Yinepu during mummification. This was also used by the acting sem-priest at the Ceremony of the Opening of the Mouth, when the eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth of the mummy were ritually 'opened' so that life could enter the body again - a prerequisite for rebirth in the afterlife. Anubis/Yinepu´s link with mummification goes back into the Pyramid Age. There is the epithet 'He Who is in the Place of Embalming', Imy-Ut as a special indication of this. In the Pyramid Texts putrefaction of the king´s flesh is prevented in the name of Yinepu. He is the one who washes the intestines of the deceased royalty, and who purifies and embalms the body, who uses incense and who wraps them with linen bandages woven by Tayet. After the cult of Wesir (Osiris) had risen to power in the Middle Kingdom, Anubis/Yinepu was placed under his rule, Wesir (Osiris) taking over much of Anubis´/Yinepu´s role as caretaker and protector. This is when Anubis/Yinepu became the embalmer, ("he who is before the divine booth") and overseer of the funerary proceedings. In the Hall of Two Truths Anubis/Yinepu was standing by the scales, overseeing the weighing of the heart of the deceased. Here he was called 'he who counts the hearts'. If the deceased passed this test and deemed as justified, Anubis/Yinepu guides him or her to the throne of Wesir.

Festival Days:
(These dates are not historically correct
as they varied each year depending on the rising of the Nile.)

Ancient Date	Modern Date	Ceremony or Ritual Name
17th of Mechir	Beginning of January	Day of Keeping the things of Wesir (Osiris) in the hands of Yinepu
6th of Pamenot	Middle-end of January	Going forth of Yinepu; Festival of jubilation for Wesir (Osiris) in Busiris
19th of Pamenot	Beginning of February	Yinepu goes forth to the Place where he receives his adoring followers in the Great Hall; feasting and festival.
2nd of Parmutit	Middle of February	Geb proceeds to Busiris to see Yinepu
7th of Mesore	Middle of June	Yinepu travels to every necropolis
10th of Mesore	Middle-end of June	Yinepu Ceremony
22nd of Mesore	Beginning of July	Feast of Yinepu with the Children of Nut and Geb
	Middle of July	The Day of the Feast of Yinepu Who Is On His Mountain ... A day of great festivities, as it represents the Purification of the Gods
17th of Paopi	Beginning of September	Going forth of Yinepu to inspect the embalming place for the protection of the god. An adverse day.
18th of Paopi	Beginning of September	Ceremony of Transformation through Yinepu

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Or go direct to some of them: Amun, Anubis, Aset - Bast -Djehuty - Hathor, Horus - Isis - Khepri - Ma'at - Nephtys - Osiris - Ptah - Re - Sekhmet, Seth - Thoth - Wadjet, Wesir

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Some sources:

Temples of Ancient Egypt - Dieter Arnold
Temples of the Last Pharaohs - Dieter Arnold
The Pyramid Texts - transl: R.O. Faulkner
The Coffin Texts - transl: R.O. Faulkner
Egyptian Myths - by George Hart
A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses - George Hart
The Complete Gods and Goddesses in Ancient Egypt - Richard H. Wilkinson

My special thanks go also to House of Netjer for allowing me to draw from their knowledge of the Netjeru!


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